California Public Employees Retirement System Buys 312,531 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 129.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 553,721 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 312,531 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $90,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 65.1% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DRI. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Wedbush lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Stephens started coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.85.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $1,270,034.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,848,268.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 7,673 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $1,270,034.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,848,268.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total transaction of $1,115,229.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,124,959.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,723 shares of company stock valued at $2,578,122 in the last quarter. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $156.61 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $18.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $164.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $133.36 and a 1 year high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.43%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V's Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brand names.